“That’s just talk. That’s just talk,” Gay said of the myriad of breathless reports which went from ‘Could be shut down’ to ‘Will be shut down’ depending on where you happened to be looking.

“The only way I’m going to get shut down is if the doctors tell me I need to stop playing,” Gay said. “I’ve been forced out before and that’s not something I look forward to again.”

That’s what you want your players to say, you want them to be competitors and fight to get back on the court.

But there is really no reason for the Raptors to rush back their biggest name player for some meaningless games at the end of the string. There’s more reasons for him to rest than to play, but if he gets all the way back and you want to run him out there, go ahead.